This article about Randy Lawson’s build appeared in the 1994 Off-Road Magazine. It took Randy 15 years to redo his CJ-3A. Unfortunately, I don’t have a before picture. Some of the details not mentioned in the short article on this page include the following:
- Randy has added a second little window below the wipers on the windshield. I assume this is custom as I’ve never seen it before.
- Randy changed the look of the cowl on the engine side by placing a chromed or polished plate across it. It makes it look very clean.
- It appears Randy padded the dash (you can see this here and here ).
- The Jeep may be registered as a CJ-3A, but the cutouts on the passenger side suggest an M38.
“It is not that uncommon in the world of four-wheel drive to hear of a buildup project that takes a few years, but randy Lawson’s 15 year fine-tuning is more on the order of evolution than customization.
The dedicated Colorado Springs, Colorado, resident tore apart his 1948 Willys CJ-3A the first time when he was just 15 years old. He dove that incarnation for two years, then decided his Flat fender rebuild needed a Phase Two.
The second segment began with the acquisition of a frame from a
1972 CJ-5, which was shortened, boxed, and enhanced with a 15 gallon aluminum fuel tank.”